Last-support.



Nb. 754,405. PATENTED MAR. 8, 1904. E. O. KRBNTLEB.. LAST SUPPORT. APPLICATION FILED JUNE15,1903. No MODEL.

Ill l y M '141. PINI. liu/Ff. 4\

UNITED STATES atented March 8, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN Oz KRENTLER, OE DETROIT, MICHIGAN, AssICNOR TO KRENTLER` ARNOLD HINGE LAST COMPANY, OE DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPO- RATION OF WEST VIRGINIA;

LAST-SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 754,405, dated March 8, 1904. Application filed June 15, 1903i Serial No. 161,408. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, EDWIN O. KREN'ILER, of Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented an Improvement in Last-Supports, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

'My invention is an improvement in the heel Io end of lasts, and relates more particularly to the means for supporting the last in inverted working position in various of the operations required in the manufacture of shoes.

In certain forms of lasts, and particularly in small lasts or cacks, large numbers of the lasts are broken because the last-,supporting means engages only at the bottomof the thimble-hole, so that when the heel is hammered (as is necessary and usual in making shoes) the 2o wood quickly splits or breaks down between the bottom of the spindle-hole and the bottom of the last. Accordingly in the present invention I have provided supporting means for the last consisting of a supporting tool or spindle having a shoulder and a thimble having a bearing-ledge for receiving said shoulder.

Further details of construction and advantages of my invention will be pointed out in the course of the following description, taken 3o in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which I have shown a preferred embodiment ofthe invention, and the latter will be more particularly defined in the appended claims. l

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows a hinged last or cack ready for use, parts being broken away for clearness of illustration. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary View' thereof, in longitudinal section, showing the entire supporting means.

4o Fig. 3 is a similar view in vertical cross-section. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the old form of construction. Figs. 5 and 6 are central vertical sections of different forms of thimble for carrying out my invention.

While my invention is applicable to all sizes and kinds of lasts, it is particularly eiicient in small lasts, and accordingly I have herein illustrated it in connection with a childs last, known in the trade as a sack These lasts are small, and consequently therel is very little 5o wood to receive the necessary parts which they must contain, the result being that the wood is cut into to such an extent that'there is little strength left for retaining the inserted parts in proper position and affording suflicient strength, so` that when such lasts are put on the usual jack, as shown in Fig. 4, said jack having a leg o, provided with a spindle a of proper length for adults lasts, the upper end of the spindle bears against the bottom of the 6o thimble or, if the latter isof the open-ended kind, directly against the wood at the narrow place a2, (shown in Fig. 4,) and when the Workman pounds on the heel end of the last he quickly batters down the wood and drives the spindle a through or into the last, splitting and ruining the same. 'Io obviate these and other objections, I provide a supporting means consisting of a shouldered spindle and an internally-shouldered thimble fitting each other and cooperating to bring the strain directly on the thimble and distribute the same therefrom more generally to the wood. The spindle, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, has a tapered lower end b, adapted to lit any jack or other machine in which it may be placed, and a shoulder b', Fig. 2, or tapered portion Z22, Fig. 3, and a shoulder 3 and a small extension bv therefrom, and the thimble has a tubular portion c, fitting the corresponding part of 8O the spindle,l and an internal ledge or shoulder c', abutting against the shoulder 3 of the spind dle, and a smaller hollow extension c2 for receiving the extension b4.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that my invention may be carried out in various embodiments diifering in minor details from the form and arrangement herein shown without departing from the spirit and scope of certain of the claims. 9o

Any old or preferred form of external shape of thimble may be employed, although, preferably, the thimble will have vsubstantially the same external shape as internal shape, as it is convenient to make the same from drawn or rolled metal,- the invention residing, however,

' 'as indicated at CZ, leaving the rest of the thimble substantially the same size above and below said shoulder, and in Fig. 6 I have shown the shoulder as provided by means of inserting in the bottom of an ordinary thimble a short section e of smaller tube.

The spindle enters the last substantially as deep as has been the custom, thereby getting the customary leverage or strength 'and stability of position; but the thrust or support against downward pressure is brought nearer the crown or top of the last than heretofore, being thereby distributed to better advantage and giving greatly-increased strength.

The form of spindle having a shoulder ZJ, as shown in Fig. 2, is best adapted to larger sizes of lasts, while the form shown in Fig. 3,where the spindle has a tapered portion Z22, is preferred for the very small lasts, which, as indicated in Fig. 3, are extremely narrow, so that the thimble extends substantially from edge to edge at the top of the last, and if the spindle or post had a supporting-shoulder, as shown at the lining ot' the shoe would be caught, and the shoulder would therefore interfere with the roper and convenient manipulation of the llast and its support. As shown in the drawings, the spindle and thimble get two mutual bearingsurfaces, the form shown in Fig. 2 having a bearing at the top against the shoulder Z2' of the spindle and intermediate the thimble between the shoulders 3 c', and in the form shown in Fig. 3 there is a bearing between the shoulders L and c' and between the bottom of the thimble and the end 7)* of the spindle.

The present application is a continuation of my prior application, Serial No. 139,153, filed January 15, 1903.

'i Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. The herein-described last-support, comprisinga thimble having an internal shoulder intermediate its length, and a spindle fitting said thimble and having an external shoulder for engaging said internal shoulder.

2. rlhe herein-described last-support, comprising a thimble provided with an internal cavity having larger diameter at its upper end than at its lower end, and a spindle provided with a reduced portion for extending substantially the length of said thimble for mainA taining the last in stable position, and inter mediate its length within said thimble pro vided with a portion fitting and bearing against said thimble intermediate the ends thereof.

3. The herein-described lastsupport, comprising a thimble and spindle provided with mutually engaging and supporting surfaces between the top and bottom of the thimble.

4. A thimble set solidly in the heel end of a last, said thimble having an internal shoulder intermediate its length, combined with a spindle having a reduced portion for extending approximately the length of said thimble for maintaining the last in stable position, a

shoulder a short distance from its end for bearing against the shoulder of the thimble, and a tapered portion b2 located adjacent the onteiend of said thimble.

5. A thimble, having its Walls of substantially uniform thickness throughout its length, said walls having an internal ledge or shoulder approximately midway of its length, combined with a jack-spindle for bearing against said ledge or shoulder.

In testimony whereeil I have signed my name to this speciiieation in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

. EDWIN O. KRENTLER.

Witnesses G. A. KRENTLER, CHARLES F. PYRN. 

